alcohol and sudden cardiac death

The relationship between alcohol and ischaemic heart disease is not straightforward – moderate intake appears to be cardioprotective, but ‘heavy’ intake is associated with a 2 fold increase in the incidence of sudden cardiac death, particularly in drinkers aged 50-59 years (Wannamethee 1992)

Heavy intake of >6 drinks daily has been shown to induce cardiac arrhythmias and Ventricular Tachycardia (VT). Evidence also exists with regard to binge drinking, where the following arrhythmias have been recorded (Ettinger 1978);

Alcohol is also known to increase blood pressure, and conduction defects are known to be present in overt alcoholic cardiomyopathy. Sudden death is also associated with alcoholic fatty liver, although the precise mechanism for this remains obscure. (Hirsch and Adams 1993; Ettinger 1978; Sheppard and Davies 1998).